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Plan Ahead: Third Circuit Denies Tax Exemption for Asset Sales Made Before Chapter 11 Plan

By A. Michael Sabino and Michael J. Abatemarco

It has been often said that Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code can be summarized as the “Three Rs,” precisely “reorganize, restructure, and rehabilitate.” In practicality, this includes steps such as “reducing headcount,” (firing people, without the euphemism), streamlining operations, reordering debt, and so on. One of the most critical components of such lifesaving steps is the divestiture of assets, in plain English, selling off assets that are either unprofitable and unwanted burdens or those items that can fetch high prices that can add quickly to the cash reserves of a troubled company.

Thus, asset sales are part and parcel of the typical Chapter 11 and include not only the sale of real estate, but also the sale of other “hard” assets, such as leased or financed equipment and personal property. Sometimes these sales are done as part of the ongoing process of rehabilitating the beleaguered entity, and other times they are accomplished pursuant to a court-approved Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. And therein lies the issue.

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